Recall performance in working memory (WM) is strongly affected by the similarity between items. When asked to encode and recall list of items in their serial order, people confuse more often the position of similar compared to dissimilar items. Models of WM explain this deleterious effect of similarity through a problem of discriminability between…

The ability to automatically and implicitly detect complex and noisy regularities in the environment is a fundamental aspect of human cognition. Despite considerable interest in implicit processes, few researchers have conceptualized implicit learning as an ability with meaningful individual differences. Instead, various researchers (e.g., Reber,…

Compound and coordinate bilinguals equally competent in French and English were compared to determine their ability to uncover key concepts, i.e., music, when such words as song, piano, sound, instrument or musician were introduced in both languages. Recent research tends to support the theoretical contrast established between compound and…

Reviews psychological aspects relevant to second language (L2) vocabulary list learning and reports on an experiment conducted with high school students learning French. Findings reveal that presenting vocabulary items in first language-second language order is the more versatile form of presentation if both production and comprehension of L2…

Revisits puzzleology (the study of puzzles and games in human cultures) in second language teaching to give the teacher an overview of the relevant facts "vis-a-vis" their incorporation into classroom instruction and to provide an elementary typology of puzzleological techniques for the teacher interested in incorporating them in…

A study analyzing word characteristics that make them more easily translated from English to French (or vice versa) indicates that translation efficacy is most strongly influenced by the frequency of the word in the language, its familiarity, and the similarity of the French equivalent to the English word. (Author/CB)